Books & Boots at the Billings Trail – Tait Section: Crossings

Date: 04/20/2024
Time: 10:00 am-11:00 am

Please join us for our next Books & Boots hike on Saturday, April 20 at 10:00 a.m. We’ll be hiking on the Billings Trail- Tait Section under the leadership of Hartley Mead and Bina Thomson as we assess the trail for animal crossings while discussing Ben Goldfarb’s new book, Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet. It is not necessary to have read the book first and all hiking abilities are welcome. This Norfolk Library program is in partnership with the Norfolk Land Trust as part of the Norfolk Earth Forum.

Meet at the Pine Mountain/Billings Trail- Tait Section Trailhead on Grantville Road, 0.4 miles east of the Grantville/Winchester Road intersection. Bina Thomson from the Norfolk Library and Hartley Mead from the Norfolk Land Trust will be waiting to greet people. Wear appropriate hiking attire. 

Please register below. Crossings is available at 16 libraries throughout Connecticut. If our copy is checked out and you would like to request a copy through inter-library loan, please contact Norfolk Library’s Front Desk Circulation at 860-542-5075, ext. 2.

More about the book:

An eye-opening account of the global ecological transformations wrought by roads, from the award-winning author of Eager. In Crossings, environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb travels throughout the United States and around the world to investigate how roads have transformed our planet. A million animals are killed by cars each day in the U.S. alone, but as the new science of road ecology shows, the harms of highways extend far beyond roadkill. Creatures from antelope to salmon are losing their ability to migrate in search of food and mates; invasive plants hitch rides in tire treads; road salt contaminates lakes and rivers; and the very noise of traffic chases songbirds from vast swaths of habitat.

Yet road ecologists are also seeking to blunt the destruction through innovative solutions. Goldfarb meets with conservationists building bridges for California’s mountain lions and tunnels for English toads, engineers deconstructing the labyrinth of logging roads that web national forests, animal rehabbers caring for Tasmania’s car-orphaned wallabies, and community organizers working to undo the havoc highways have wreaked upon American cities. Today, as our planet’s road network continues to grow exponentially, the science of road ecology has become increasingly vital. Written with passion and curiosity, Crossings is a sweeping, spirited, and timely investigation into how humans have altered the natural world―and how we can create a better future for all living beings. 

Registration: